You know what time of year it is – so I’ve just been through my annual Mind the Advent countdown! As I’ve seen a personal best number of different shows this year, the sheer volume of actors (and performances) have really been stacking up and making my life difficult – in terms of summing up my favourites of the year, that is. So here is a bit of a sneak preview of what’s to come in my highlight posts…

Following in the footsteps of Emma Rice’s production of the same play in her final summer season at the Globe, director Christopher Luscombe moves from Nell Gwynn’s 17th century setting to a Belle Époque version of Twelfth Night.

It is immediately obvious why Nell Gwynn is an Olivier-award winning comedy and it’s down to one inspirational writer – Jessica Swale. An individual with a keen eye for context within the text, Swale’s first play Blue Stocking came to Shakespeare’s Globe and highlighted the power of the historical woman – the first female Cambridge graduates.

A musical about Nell Gwynn, when ‘orange’ is notoriously the most difficult word with which to rhyme? Sounds a tough prospect. As it happens, this isn’t strictly a musical, it’s a comedy with music. It’s also a drama with music.